Composite metal article

ABSTRACT

The present disclosure teaches a composite metal article having a variety of uses, especially for the manufacture of jewelry. The composite of the present invention is a copper base alloy containing from 5 to 40 percent manganese bonded to nickel or a nickel base alloy or stainless steel. Additional layers may be bonded to this composite, such as a thin layer of a gold filled alloy or other decorative metal or alloy.

United States Patent 1191 Tyler et al. Dec. 11, 1973 [54] COMPOSITEMETAL ARTICLE 2,052,140 8/1936 Jennison 29/l99 2,608,753 9/1952Mooradian... 29/l99 [76] Invent: Tyle" f 2,691,816 10/1954 Siege] 29/199g i g p g 3: 3,395,443 8/1968 POllnkO 29 199 ou evar ew aven, o o ConnPrimary Examinerl-lyland Bizot [22] Filed; Apr. 14, 1972 AttorneyRobertH. Bachman et al.

[21] A 1. No.2 244 113 pp 57 ABSTRACT [521 LS CL 29/1963 29/199 Thepresent disclosure teaches a composite metal arti- [51] Int Cl 832,)15/00 cle having a variety of uses, especially for the manu- [58] Field5 196 3 facture of jewelry. The composite of the present invention is acopper base alloy containing from 5 to 40 [56] References Cited percentmanganese bonded to nickel or a nickel base alloy or stainless steel.Additional layers may be UNITED STATES PATENTS bonded to this composite,such as a thin layer of a Eugan n alloy o other decorative metal oralloy ammerer 3,676,088 7/1972 Pryor 29/199 8 Claims, 3 Drawing FiguresCOMPOSITE METAL ARTICLE BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The presentinvention relates to the art of multicomponent composites particularlyuseful in the manufacture of jewelry.

It is highly desirable to develop relatively inexpensive compositematerials which may be conveniently used in the manufacture of jewelryor ornamental articles, as well as for other uses. The copper basealloys are particularly desirable as a component thereof in view oftheir excellent physical properties. However, the copper base alloys aresusceptible to tarnishing and often do not have suitable colorcharacteristics for the desired use.

Accordingly, it is a particular object of the present invention toprovide novel composite articles.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide composites asaforesaid which are particularly suitable for the manufacture of jewelryor ornamental articles.

It is a still further object of the present invention to providerelatively inexpensive composites which utilize a copper base alloycomponent which has an attractive white color and is relativelyinexpensive.

It is a still further object of the present invention to provide novelcomposites as aforesaid which are readily compatible with a variety ofother materials and which are suitable for a variety of uses.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In accordance with the present invention it hasnow been found that the foregoing objects and advantages are readilyachieved. The composite of the present invention has a first componentof a copper base alloy containing manganese in an amount from to 40percent balance essentially copper and a second component selected fromthe group consisting of nickel, nickel base alloys and stainless steel.The copper base alloy component may, if desired, contain a variety ofother additives in order to achieve particular properties. Additionallayers may be provided, if desired, in order to provide a still furtherimproved composite. For example, one may utilize a thin layer of adecorative material, such as a gold filled alloy, bonded to either thecopper component or the nickel or steel component.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a schematic drawing of arepresentative composite of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a schematic drawing of an additional embodiment of thecomposite of the present invention; and

FIG. 3 is a schematic drawing of a still further embodiment of thecomposite of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION As indicated hereinabove, it is highly desirable toprovide decorative and inexpensive composites which may be convenientlyused in the manufacture of jewelry or ornamental articles.

The usual gold filled composite for the manufacture of jewelrypreferably has a substantially pure nickel base and bonded thereto is athin layer of decorative gold filled alloy. However, from time to timeattempts have been made to provide a substitute for the nickel base.This is due to the high cost of nickel and the fluctuating supplythereof. Stainless steel has been only partially successful as areplacement, for example, due to a frequent reaction between thestainless steel and the wearer of the jewelry. It has been suggested touse composites having a core of a nickel-silver alloy (a copper basealloy containing about 10 to 18 percent nickel and about 25 to 30percent zinc). Composites of this type would have a thin nickel layer onone side and a gold filled alloy on the other side, with or without anintermediate layer of nickel. However, these alloys tend to be expensiveand do not entirely serve the pres ent needs.

In accordance with the present invention one may provide a highlydecorative composite by simply utilizing as a first component a copperbase alloy containing from 5 to 40 percent manganese and as a secondcomponent either nickel, a nickel alloy or a stainless steel. Thiscomposite may, if desired, be the finished article or preferably a thinlayer of a decorative material, such as a gold filled alloy, may bebonded thereto either adjacent the copper layer or adjacent the nickelor steel layer. When the decorative material is bonded directly to the.copper base alloy, a thin layer of substantially pure nickel may beinterposed between the copper component and the decorative component.This interlayer beneficially influences the reflectivity and surfaceappearance of the finished article.

The first component of the composite of the present invention is acopper base alloy containing from 5 to 40 percent manganese. Thismaterial is particularly useful in the composite of the presentinvention in view of its highly desirable physical characteristics. Thiscomponent, particularly as modified hereinafter, has a highly desirablewhite color which is particularly useful in decorative applications.Furthermore, it has a relatively low cost and is readily andconveniently processed.

Suitable alloying additions to the: copper component include thefollowing and mixtures thereof: nickel from 0.5 to 30 percent; zinc upto 35 percent and preferably from 20 to 35 percent; aluminum from 0.01to 5 percent. Representative and typical alloys which may be readilyused'include the following:

Alloy l manganese 5 35 percent copper essentially balance Alloy 2manganese 8 16 percent zinc 21 34 percent copper essentially balanceAlloy 3 manganese 5 30 percent nickel 5 30 percent copper essentiallybalance Alloy 4 manganese 3 10 percent nickel 0.5 10 percent zinc 21 34percent copper essentially balance Alloy 5 manganese 5 40 percentaluminum 0.5 5 percent copper essentially balance Alloy 6 manganese 5 40percent aluminum 0.5 5 percent zinc 0.5 10 percent copper essentiallybalance Alloy 7 manganese 35 percent aluminum 0.5 5 percent nickel 0.5percent copper essentially balance Naturally, in addition to theforegoing, it is contemplated that the copper base alloys used hereinmay contain small additions of other elements either as normalcommercial impurities or as intentional additions in order to improvetheir fabrication or performance. Such other elements may be present inamounts as low as 0.01 percent, but may be intentionally added inamounts from 0.1 to 5 percent. Such additions may consist of one or moreof the following elements: iron, cobalt, phosphorus, tin, zinc,titanium, zirconium, silicon, boron, magnesium, chromium, arsenic andantimony.

The copper base alloys which are utilized in the composite of thepresent invention are substantially less expensive than both pure nickeland the nickel-silver alloys. They are readily processed to thin gage byhot rolling and cold rolling, with or without intermediate or terminalanneals, and are exceedingly amenable to being incorporated into anarticle ofjewelry or an ornamental material.

The second component of the composite of the present invention may beeither a nickel base alloy, nickel or a stainless steel. The nickel ornickel base alloy may be high purity nickel, commercial purity nickel ora nickel alloy containing one or more additives as desired, such asaluminum from 1 to 8 percent. Other additives are naturallycontemplated, for example, in amounts of at least 0.001 percent,generally less than 5 percent and preferably less than 1 percent, suchas cobalt, iron, copper, manganese, silicon, carbon, sulfur and/orchromium. Naturally, impurities may also be present.

Any of the stainless steels may be used as the second component, forexample, the austenitic stainless steels containing from 16 to 26percent chromium and 3 to 22 percent nickel. Typical additional alloyingconstituents include but are not limited to the following: carbon,aluminum, manganese, titanium, silicon, phosphorus, sulfur, chromium,nickel, zirconium and/or zinc. Generally up to 5 percent may be used,preferably up to 2 percent and as low as 0.001 percent. Naturally,normal impurities may be present.

The components of the composite of the present invention may-be readilybonded by any desired method. It is preferred in accordance with thepresent invention that the bonding take place at some intermediate gagein sheet form by rolling the components together. Naturally, heat andpressure may be used and the composite would then be rolled to thedesired final gage. Alternatively, the nickel and gold layers could bedeposited onto the copper component by electrolytic means. Afterfabrication the composite may, if necessary, be heat treated by normalprocedures to render it in a condition suitable for subsequent forming,pressing, or coining operations in order to produce a desired article ofjewelry or the like.

A preferred embodiment of the present invention utilizes a decorativematerial as a third component, as indicated hereinabove. Any decorativealloy may be utilized, for example, a gold rich alloy, a silver richalloy, a platinum rich alloy, a palladium rich alloy, a rhodium richalloy or a chromium rich alloy, or mixtures thereof. In fact, aplurality of layers of decorative materials may be readily useddepending upon the particular finish desired.

When a gold rich material is utilized, either pure gold or preferably analloy may be used. For example, a common material is an alloy containinggold, silver and copper for a rolled gold finish of about 10 karats,with a composition of 41.7 percent gold, 15-47 percent silver, balanceessentially copper. Alternatively, a filled gold layer of typically 14karats has a composition of 58.3 percent gold, 10-32 percent silver,balance essentially copper. The exact composition tends to depend ondesired color. The high silver materials are white in color. The colorgoes through yellow to red with decreasing silver content.

The white gold alloys are commonly used as a substitute for platinum andare commonly gold-nickelcopper-zinc alloys. For example, arepresentative material of 10 karats has a composition of4l .7 percentgold, 32.8 percent copper, 17.1 percent nickel and 8.4 percent zinc. Arepresentative material of 14 karats has a composition of58.3 percentgold, 23.5 percent copper, 12.2 percent nickel and 6.0 percent zinc.

Naturally, additional elements may be utilized, generally in smallamounts up to 1 percent, such as zirconium, iridium, rhodium, ruthenium,cobalt, iron and/or nickel. The gold material is normally rolled on, butmay be electrolytically deposited.

Rhodium is generally utilized as the pure metal and is normallyelectroplated.

Palladium may be electroplated or rolled and may be used in pure form-oras a palladium-ruthenium alloy containing up to 10 percent ruthenium andgenerally up to about 5 percent.

Platinum may be used in pure form, or in an alloy containing up to about20 percent palladium, or in an alloy containing up to about 20 percentiridium, or in an alloy containing up to about 10 percent ruthenium.Generally binary alloys are used. The material may be eitherelectroplated or rolled.

The silver is generally used in pure form or as sterling silver whichcontains 92.5 percent minimum silver, balance copper, and may beelectroplated or rolled.

Chromium is generally utilized as the pure metal and is normallyelectroplated. The chromium is generally applied over nickel for betterappearance.

The total thickness of the composite is naturally variable. In finishedform applicable for use in jewelry or other decorative uses, the totalthickness is preferably between 0.008 inch to 0.025 inch. For otheruses, one may contemplate a wider range of thicknesses from 0.008 inchto 0.1 inch. Naturally, individual components may have a thickness assmall as 0.0001 inch.

The drawings which form a part of the present specification showrepresentative composites.

FIG. 1 illustrates one form of the invention, consisting, for example,of an alloy core 1 of a 12.5 percent manganese, 24.5 percent zinc,balance copper alloy. Bonded to one (the bottom) side of the core 1, isa backing layer 3, which may have a minimum thickness of about 0.001inch. This backing layer may consist of substantially pure nickel, or astainless steel alloy, typically 304 alloy. On the other side (the top)of the core 1, is bonded a substantially pure nickel layer 5 which alsomay have a minimum thickness of about 0.001 inch. Bonded to the top ofthis nickel layer 5 is a layer of gold 7, the thickness of which ispreferably about 0.001 inch. The gold may be of any desired karat, suchas, for example, an alloy consisting of 41.65 percent gold, 38.45percent copper, 9.55 percent silver, 1.50 percent nickel and 9.95percent zinc.

In the case of FIG. 2, the core 11 consists, for example, essentially of7 percent manganese, 5 percent nickel, 29 percent zinc, balance copper.In this instance, the pure nickel interlayer is omitted. The outerlayers 13 and 17, and their dimensions are substantially as layers 3 and7 in the case of FIG. 1. Thus, layer 13 may be nickel of a nickel alloyor stainless steel and layer 17 may be a decorative material.

In the case of FIG. 3, the first component 21 may be any of thecopper-manganese alloys described above, such as layer 1 in FIG. 1 orlayer 11 in FIG. 2, and the second component 23 may be nickel or anickel alloy or stainless steel, as in layer 3 in FIG. 1 or layer 13 inFIG. 2.

Naturally, the copper core material may consist of a plurality of thecopper-manganese alloys described above. Similarly, the nickel orstainless layers and the gold filled layers may be combinations ofmaterials.

The present invention will be more readily understood from aconsideration of the following illustrative examples.

EXAMPLE I A copper base alloy containing 12 percent manganese and 24.5percent zinc was clad upon one side with nickel in the following manner.

A sample of annealed copper base alloy sheet, 0.200 inch gauge, andannealed nickel foil, 0.005 inch gauge, were sandwiched together andthen rolled together in a single pass with a reduction of about 50percent.

Subsequent cold rolling with an interanneal at 600C was performed. Inthe resultant composite the copper base alloy layer was approximately0.020 inch thick and the nickel layer approximately 0.0005 inch thick. Afirm metallurgical bond was present between the two constituent layers.The composite so formed exhibited a highly polished and attractivebright white colored finish on both sides.

EXAMPLE II A copper base alloy containing 30 percent manganese, 4percent zinc, 1.2 percent iron and 0.5 percent aluminum alloy was cladon one side with nickel and gold fill and the other side with 304stainless steel in the following manner.

A sample of the annealed copper base alloy at 0.200 inch gauge wassandwiched between annealed nickel foil of 0.005 inch gauge, andannealed 304 stainless steel foil of 0.005 inch gauge. This sandwich wasreduced about 50 percent by rolling in one pass. The resultant compositewas then annealed at 650C for 30 minutes. Ten karat gold alloy foil of0.0025 inch gauge was then placed adjacent to the nickel layer and thefour component composite cold rolled to a final thickness of 0.010 inch.The resultant composite consisted of a copper-manganese alloy core witha stainless steel backing on one side. The other side had a nickel layerand an attractive gold fill upper layer.

This invention may be embodied in other forms or I carried out in otherways without departing from the spirit or essential characteristicsthereof. The present embodiment is therefore to be considered as in allrespects illustrative and not restrictive, the scope of the inventionbeing indicated by the appended claims, and all changes which comewithin the meaning and range of equivalency are intended to be embracedtherein.

What is claimed is:

1. A composite article having a first component of a copper base alloyconsisting essentially of manganese in an amount from 5 to 40 percent,balance copper and bonded thereto a second component selected from thegroup consisting of nickel, a nickel base alloy and stainless steel.

2. A composite according to claim 1 including a decorative layer as athird component bonded to said composite.

3. A composite according to claim 2 wherein said decorative layer is agold alloy.

4. A composite according to claim 2 including as a fourth component analloy consisting of nickel bonded to said first component, with thethird component bonded to said fourth component.

5. A composite according to claim 1 wherein said first componentcontains a material selected from the group consisting of nickel from0.5 to 30 percent, zinc from 20 to 35 percent, aluminum from 0.01 to 5percent and mixtures thereof.

6. A composite according to claim 1 wherein said first componentcontains from 0.0 1 to 5 percent of a material selected from the groupconsisting of iron, cobalt, phosphorus, tin, zinc, titanium, zirconium,silicon, boron, magnesium, chromium, arsenic, antimony and mixturesthereof.

7. A composite according to claim 1 having a thickness of from 0.008inch to 0.1 inch.

8. A composite according to claim 2 having a thickness of from 0.008inch to 0.025 inch.

, UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION Patent No. I3,77 3 Dated December 11, 1973 Inventor(s) Derek Tyler et a] It iscertified that error appears in the above-identified patent and thatsaid Letters Patent are hereby corrected as shown below:

In the heading, after "Inventors: Derek E. Tyler, 53 Elmwood Dr.Cheshire; Stanley Shapiro, 1860 Boulevard, New Haven, both of Conn."insert --Assignee: Olin Corporation, New

Haven, Conn."---.

Signed and sealed 7 this 7th day of May 197M.

(SEAL) Attost:

EDWAi-iD ILFLMICI-IBIQJR. C. MARSHALL DANN v Attesting OfficerCommissioner of Patents USCOMM-DC 60376-P69 FORM FO-IOSO (10-69) V us.GOVERNMENT rnmtnm; OFFICE nu o-au-su

2. A composite according to claim 1 including a decorative layer as athird component bonded to said composite.
 3. A composite according toclaim 2 wherein said decorative layer is a gold alloy.
 4. A compositeaccording to claim 2 including as a fourth component an alloy consistingof nickel bonded to said first component, with the third componentbonded to said fourth component.
 5. A composite according to claim 1wherein said first component contains a material selected from the groupconsisting of nickel from 0.5 to 30 percent, zinc from 20 to 35 percent,aluminum from 0.01 to 5 percent and mixtures thereof.
 6. A compositeaccording to claim 1 wherein said first component contains from 0.01 to5 percent of a material selected from the group consisting of iron,cobalt, phosphorus, tin, zinc, titanium, zirconium, silicon, boron,magnesium, chromium, arsenic, antimony and mixtures thereof.
 7. Acomposite according to claim 1 having a thickness of from 0.008 inch to0.1 inch.
 8. A composite according to claim 2 having a thickness of from0.008 inch to 0.025 inch.